This invention relates to drive apparatus for a vehicle, and more particularly, to such drive apparatus which incorporates a pair of torque converters used to drive the forward and rearward wheels of the vehicle.
In the prior art, it is well-known to provide in a vehicle first and second torque converters, the pump of each torque converter being driven by the engine of the vehicle, and the turbine of each converter being driven by rotation of the pump thereof. The turbines of such first and second converters drive respective first and second shafts, the rotation of which in turn drive the forward and rearward wheels of the vehicle. Such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,455,407 to Phillips. While such a system has proved relatively effective in use, it will be understood that, in order to achieve certain drive characteristics, along with a high degree of simplicity and economy, other dual torque converter drive systems might with advantage be utilized.